Answer

The Role of the Leader in Preventing Falls among the Elderly

Preventing Falls among the Elderly: Project Aims, Values and desired Outcomes

The elderly, due to the nature of their advanced age, are prone to suffering from accidents and falls. Previous studies have revealed that the elderly suffer from a variety of susceptible conditions that render their stability to be affected. This is associated with decrease in bone density and loss of stability following hearing problems. Literature has revealed that elderly individuals are prone to falls because of the old age effects on their bodies (Abraham & Cimino-Fiallos, 2017). It is on the basis of the adverse outcomes and poor quality of life associated with serious injuries emanating from falls that a change is necessary. In this regard, the aim of this project, its values, and desirable outcomes must be assessed in order to determine if it has positive effect on reducing falls among the elderly population and improving their quality life.

Project Aim

The aim of the project is to reduce, or if possible eliminate, cases of patient falls that are majorly experienced during their stay in hospitals. This is primarily because the proposed change, which is the use of bed exit alarms, monitors the movement of patients within their beds. Bed exit alarms are designed to sense or detect the movement of the patient in their beds which then increases staff surveillance of physically or cognitively impaired residents who are at risk of bed related falls (Gelbard et al., 2014). The alarms send a signal that the patient is at the edge of the bed or is about to fall. The nurses can then come to the rescue of such patients. Other than alerting the care providers, bed exit alarms also warn patients that that they are likely to fall hence resume the correct position. The implementation of these changes are thus bound to achieve the objectives of advancing the safety of the elderly by preventing falls. 

Project Value

The health of the elderly is at the forefront in the execution of the project. According to Alshammari et al. (2018), 56.0% of the adult inpatient injurious falls occur while the patients are getting out of or back to bed. This reveals that bed fall is a factor that threatens the quality of life of the elderly individuals. By effectively implementing the use of bed exit alarms, cases of injuries and fatalities from falls will be positively impacted as the changes will be sufficient to ensure that the well-being of the elderly is duly prioritized and thus eliminating these cases (Gelbard et al., 2014). Practically, the project ensures that patient care services are accorded even outside the medical facility thus advancing clinical microsystems. In essence, this project adds value to the observation of the movement of the elderly and further advances patient safety and care towards a population that is prone and susceptible to grievous injuries and even possible injurious falls.

Project Desired Outcomes

It is projected that a large portion of the incomes of the elderly are usually spent on medical treatment and associated care after cases of falls. As such, falls have been found to be among the top factors that primarily affect the well-being and health of the elderly. In the implementation of this project, the anticipated outcomes include a reduction in costs spent on healthcare by the elderly in relation to falls (Gelbard et al., 2014). Secondly, it is anticipated that with the observance of the projected changes, the elderly population will make fewer visits to the clinic over matters relating to falls. This will be measured through comparing the number of visits that are made to the clinic with regard to falls among the elderly before and after the implementation of the project. Thirdly it will reduce the mortality rate and low quality of life of the elderly individuals. This can be measured using the number of deaths and injuries that have been caused by cases of falls. 

Conclusion

The elderly population is affected by various factors especially in terms of their health. Ensuring that the risk factors associated with falls are eliminated serves to ensure that the well-being and safety of the elderly is assured. The implementation of the changes not only secures the safety of the elderly, but also makes hospital and residential homes safe for patients. The project’s aims, values and desired outcome thus are all tailored to reducing the falls hence ensuring safety of elderly during their stay in the hospitals.Sewdas et al.’s (2017) study employed, there are very little room for generalizing the study’s findings.